Single Frame Stories: Pot

Years ago I had a vision of walking in a field full of wildflowers and reaching out to them, only to have their roots grow through my veins, sucking me up and reforming me out of their own stuff as it gradually grew more and more difficult for me to move, until I was an enormous tree reborn out of the flowers which had consumed me. it was an odd feeling, things moving through my veins which weren't blood, but not at all painful and I still carry the sense of that vision in my bones along with a deep sense of peace, of how I and my environment influence each other as I rebuild myself through my environment, through all of the flowers which live around and within and through me - they feed on me, and I on them.

I also really love puns, though, so now I am the Wrong Kind of Pot.

( More single frame stories. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Truth, Orchid
Headflowers 1: BP, Inner Tree blue
Headflowers 2: Panda Express, Head Sprout
Headflowers 3: !bang, Clover Shamrock
Headflowers 4: Sugar, Early Morning Sprout
Headflowers 5: Sugar, Sunny Blossom Sprout
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Boom, Mean Green Eye Paint
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Vera
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, USA
Dress: LeeZu, CoCo Dress
Black Roses: G Field, Rose Fairy
Shoes: G Field, Flower Pumps "Eve"

Tea Set: Schadenfreude, Tako Set (Arcade Prizes)

Pose: Flowey, all that happiness

Location: My Platform
Light Settings: Rot

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Americana in Flux

Flux returned after a very long haitus this month, just in time for a very country-specific holiday that is also oddly universal. July Forth as Independence day is very United States-centric, but many different countries have their own days of Independence - or even independence days layered over each other as their longstanding cultures remade themselves again and again. One thing often not spoken about Independence Day - the US one in particular though this is probably a valid shadow on other independence days - are those for whom it is the opposite, for whom it is the celebration of their murderers and destroyers, for whom "independence" is better recognized as "oppression."

I am an odd sort of US Patriot - overall I like the Constitution, though I recognize it as a flawed document made by flawed people who trumpeted liberty while owning slaves and living on land bought by the murder of those who had lived there before. I believe that to be a true Patriot one must not succor oneself with thoughts of US exceptionalism or perfection, but rather realize that some ideals were laid high for us in the early days and we are still far from recognizing many of them, but that is motivation to try harder and not to give up. I think we can do better, and I think honoring where we came from by trying to rectify the mistakes of the past and alter our actions in the present is a better way to live than pretending it didn't happen and we're all post-racial buddies.

Flux is an awesome time to rock the red, white, and blue though, and I think even the French might be willing to swing by for some Tricolor action. The only overtly US Flagish thing I'm wearing are these awesome boots from Momento Mori which I simply couldn't resist; I'm not normally a distressed style of person, but in this case it seemed very appropriate. They are gorgeously textured and really a lot of fun. The three-color stockings from Orc Inc underneath them are also available at Flux, and in addition to being a fantastic fit for anyone they have the added bonus of a SLink Enhanced System compatible food HUD, so you can show off your tinted toes in stocking feet if you want to. The dress, sadly, is not a Flux release, but it was an awesome release from Souzou Eien, and I really loved the drippy detail on the bodice. I also had lots of fun playing with the shadows between the layers - so~ awesome~. I sadly neglected a single frontal shot of this, though a mixture of distraction and enjoyment of these very fun balloons from Weather or Not which were also released at Flux - three options in one, and bobbing fun for the whole family.

My awesome headband with it's little hearts in bright colors is also a Flux release from Lark - and if I remember correctly was either free or extremely inexpensive. Well worth picking up, and I was able to match it up to the headband built into the new release from Wasabi Pills - having a headband already in place made matching it up a breeze, which is a tip I will definitely remember for the future. My awesome nails are one of a whole slew of them also from Orc Inc, and it was really hard to pick the one I liked best; there are even some blue and white and red and white in there for the Danes and Guatemalans among us. My jewelry again drives us into not-Fluxlandia but harkens to an event still in the building stages, the Love Donna Flora event. Casja released a report stating the money is already coming in, and also noting a change in venue for the Donna Flora main store. Hopefully this will ease Squinternet's days and demonstrate how dear she is to so many in Second Life.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Tanya
Hairband: Lark, Heart of America Headband (Flux)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Mock, Faerie Punque in Navy
Eyedecoration: White Widow, Asia
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, 13 Lips Blood
Lipgloss: Mock, Mizu Venetian Red
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Monia set
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, USA (Flux)
Dress: Souzou Eien, Kureji Loli Blue
Stockings: Orc Inc, Red Blue White (Flux)
Shoes: Momento Mori, Easy Rider Boots (Flux)

Poses: Weather or Not

Location: Flux
Light Settings: Places, Las Legunas
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 28 - Poppies Sky

Orange and Blue are fantastic complementary colors, and often really fun to pair up, and this set of bright, slightly dusty colors - Poppies Sky - are no different. I'm playing around more with coloring my wings from Deviance, and really enjoying the fact I can tint the veins and webbing separately - the effect is striking and powerful, I think. It's a little difficult to tint, since I wear them moving, but if you set the color n your selections first, then select face, and keep an eye on what the texture shown is, you can pretty quickly and easily tint your way through even with the wings moving. Like on the wings, I did a lot of mixing for this look; the hat and hair from Wasabi Pills hat the orange as a choice, but again I used select face to tint the two buttons - one a fantastic blue, and the other slightly more creme to match the secondary color on this necklace from Glow. I actually picked the necklace up thinking of this challenge, as the orange seemed to match it well and it was a unique, interesting piece of jewelry. One thing I love about Second Life is being able to accumulate a variety of unusual jewelry, and I added pieces from another set - a bracelet and ring - from Eclectica to balance out the orange at my fingertips - a fantastic glittery set from Orc Inc which I was glad to have an excuse to wear again.

My cosmetics are a combination of Elymode for the eyes, with blue lids and gold around the eye, and Mock in a orangy-brown for my lips. I'm unsure if I would have wanted more blue, but I have to admit the all orange around the eyes is a very warm, soft look. My dress is a fantastic release from Rebel Hope in an interesting cut, showing off the arms and legs instead of the breasts and butt, with fantastic texturing to show the ripples and pulls of fabric which Second Life can't duplicate in form. Finally, my shoes are an amazing recent release from SLink and allowed me to mix and match textures so that I could again pair up blue and orange to fantastic effect. They fit over the medium feet SLink releases, so I could match my toes to my nails easily. I spent a long while futzing with shadows and depth of field taking these pictures, and while I'm still a novice, I spent much of it crowing about how much I adored both. I didn't realize how unpolished my pictures looked until I saw them with shadows falling naturally, and the background fuzzing out slightly in response to focus, and it's like rediscovering photography in Second Life all over again.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Lumi 2
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Blue & Gold
Lipstick: Mock, Caramel Lip Jelle
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Necklace: Glow, Scarf Style Necklace
Bracelet & Ring: Eclectica, Rococco Cobalt
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, Glitterslash
Dress: Rebel Hope, Angela
Shoes: SLink, Tri-Color Wedges (worn with her medium feet)

Pose: flowy

Location: nostos deer
Light Settings: Places, Las Legunas
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Monday Meme: The Haunted Meme

Strawberry asks us all: What are you afraid of? What are you haunted by? Share some of your fears and if you can, create an image depicting one of them. Don’t forget to leave your link in the comments!

I could have gone all complicated for this image, trying to set something in world, but that would be way too difficult... so instead I played around a bit with photoshop and... here is the result. I have no idea if it's cheating or not... and I still don't know how I feel about it, but I rather like the image.

My biggest fear is that my worst thoughts about myself are actually true, and it's only a matter of time before everyone notices and I never have another friend again. My second worst fear is I will die alone and unloved. My third fear is that this is it, I will never find a man to share my life with - and it will be all of my fault. I'm also afraid of dying in pain - not dying, but the in pain part. I'm afraid of no one liking me, of being fundamentally unlikable, of being too mean, of being too kind, of making bad judgements. Having had a client die, I continue to dread a client dying via suicide on my watch - but it's less of a fear because I know it must happen someday.

Blog the Beat #7: Angel Eyes

Angel Eyes by Love & Theft

She likes whiskey with her water
She starts dancing when the stars come out
She ain’t your typical preacher’s daughter
She’ll leave you dreamin’ yeah there ain’t no doubtThere’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes
She’s a little bit of heaven with a wild side
Got a rebel heart a country mile wide
There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes
A little bit of devil in her angel eyes

 Saturday night she’s rockin’ out by the bonfire
Flirting from that tail gate and crankin’ up the dial
Come Sunday mornin’ she’ll be singing with the choir
Drivin’ me crazy with that kiss me smile

There’s a little bit of devil in those angel eyes
She’s a little bit of heaven with a wild side
Got a rebel heart a country mile wide
There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes
There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes

And I can’t stop wonderin’ what it would feel like, to hold her all night
She’s got that something, that sexy innocence, she must be heaven sent

There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes
She’s a little bit of heaven with a wild side
Got a rebel heart a country mile wide
There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes

There’s a little bit of devil in those angel eyes
She’s a little bit of heaven with a wild side
Got a rebel heart a country mile wide
There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes
There’s a little bit of devil in her
In those angel, in those angel eyes

 ( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul

Eyeshadow: White Widow

Hair: Wasabi Pills

Wings: Deviance

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 27 - Cabbage Patch Forest

I went out looking for the Cabbage Patch Forest and ended up stumbling across an awesome free photo studio, put together by the creator behind Souzen Eien, called Captured Moments. I found out about it a few weeks ago, but it wasn't until today I finally had enough time to play around with all of the different poses, and I completely had a ball. There is one level of standard pose stands with different backgrounds, and then two levels - two - of an astonishing array of in situ pose objects, including a martini glass, a birdcage, and a box with different leans for awesome shadow work (all show in this post). In addition, there's a gorgeous outside garden area perfect for shadows. This is really worth any photographer going past and exploring; while there are several things I own, there are so many more I don't, and I really enjoyed a chance to bounce from one to another playing around with different effects and poses in a way I rarely do.

My green lovers outfit is a fantastic combination of things, and I think I hit the color mark more closely than I have recently. The dress is a semi-recent release from Jane that I have been wanting to show off for a while, and I really love it. The double layer skirt is novel and different, and my only wish would be to have it in more colors - at three colors per style, I was crying even while I was loving it. I suppose it's really wonderful when you're only complaint is "more please?" I paired it with this gorgeous necklace from Donna Flora, made up of a variety of flowers and then the twisting curl of vines. The necklace and earrings are sold separately from the ring and bracelet, but all of them are tintable with a single HUD, which is really space saving for my poor inventory. My cosmetics are a mix of two favorites - the thick liquid eyeshadow of MiaSnow and the light gloss from Mock. I especially like Mock's glosses because you can layer them over other things and really give a new edge to an old lipstick. Finally, my awesome shoes, shown with awesome shadows below, are the newest release from Felicity. I particularly like the ruffle along the back of the foot for this shoe; the foot is included, and it's tintable with a manually tintable HUD, which makes matching a breeze.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Eep, Hair 016
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: MiaSnow, dark 3 green
Lipstick: Mock, Lucir Lipcolor Dandy Lion
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Vera
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Izzie's, Metallic Nails
Dress: Jane, Carolina Dress
Shoes: Felicity, Paige Stilettos

Pose: various

Location: Captured Moments
Light Settings: TOR, HORROR Land rising
Water Settings: Nacon's Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Blog the Beat #6: Into the Ocean

This was a difficult song for me to relate to for this challenge - in terms of the gender conflicts inherent in the story, but I - like many people - know what it feels like to want to jump off of whatever vehicle we happen to be on, leaping away from expectations, restrictions, limitations, and responsibilities. I've always thought that one would just find oneself more solidly then, though - reflected through the eyes of a thousand new people. After all, isn't that just what Second Life offers us? A chance to jettison everything we are, including our appearance, except that which makes us who we are, our personality. While a different nature can be imitated for a while, I think that in the end the truth always rises to the top. Many people object to the number of people who enter into Second Life as a gender other than their own, even more than just about any other change, but I think there are advantages to shucking our appearance of gender and seeing what new prejudices and assumptions cling to us; the opinions of others can teach us so much. 

Into the Ocean by Blue October

I’m just a normal boy
That sank when I fell overboard
My ship would leave the country
But I’d rather swim ashore

Without a life vest I’d be stuck again
Wish I was much more masculine
Maybe then I could learn to swim
Like ‘fourteen miles away’

Now floating up and down
I spin, colliding into sound
Like whales beneath me diving down
I’m sinking to the bottom of my
Everything that freaks me out
The lighthouse beam has just run out
I’m cold as cold as cold can be 

be

I want to swim away but don’t know how
Sometimes it feels just like I’m falling in the ocean
Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion… yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now…come down
Let the rain come down

Where is the coastguard
I keep looking each direction
For a spotlight, give me something
I need something for protection
Maybe flotsam junk will do just fine
the jetsam sunk, I’m left behind
I’m treading for my life believe me
(How can I keep up this breathing)

Not knowing how to think
I scream aloud, begin to sink
My legs and arms are broken down
With envy for the solid ground
I’m reaching for the life within me
How can one man stop his ending
I thought of just your face
Relaxed, and floated into space

I want to swim away but don’t know how
Sometimes it feels just like I’m falling in the ocean
Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion… yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now…come down
Let the rain come down
Let the rain come down

Now waking to the sun
I calculate what I had done
Like jumping from the bow (yeah)
Just to prove that I knew how (yeah)
It’s midnight’s late reminder of
The loss of her, the one I love
My will to quickly end it all
Set front row in my need to fall

Into the ocean, end it all

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: The Stringer Mausoleum, Tenta - Seaweed
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Beautiful Freak, Sand & Sea Expo Hunt Gift
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Galatea Set
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Izzie's, Metallic Nails
Shirt: Evie's Closet, Under the Sea Hunt Prize
Tail: Tarnished, Teal Seafoam Mermaid

Pose: Chisa Creations, Mermaid 03

Location: Cerridwen's Cauldron
Light Settings: TOR, HORROR Land rising
Water Settings: Nacon's Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

SL Disney Bound – Week Sixteen: Drizella & Anastasia

It's another couples set, and these are always a challenge for me - it tends to be one of my alts, and this time, for Drizella and Anastasia, I ended up going really over the top. This is definitely not casual wear, but it might work for a fancy dinner... maybe? I think both of the Evil Stepsisters would have crowed over the hair and the clothing, so I admit I'm enjoying it quite a bit. The hardest part was finding inexpensive skin and cosmetics for my poor alt, Placebo, who ended up trying on a few different ones before I settled on a recent free release from Curious Kitties. It's a really cute style inspired by watermelon - I love the little dots on the cheek like watermelon seeds. Quandry is wearing my usual skin from De La Soul, but I dressed it up with a bright eyeshadow from Virtual Insanity, and a gorgeous lip from Adore & Abhor. Both of them are wearing hair from Curio Obscura, part of one of her amazing releases for Arcade. I really love the different styles, though I struggled a little with hairlines on Placebo. I loved the masses of curls, though, and it fit the character so well, so how could I resist?

The Jewelry deserves a special note - they're releases from Donna Flora, who we recently learned through Casja Lilliehook has been getting more ill with her Cancer, and she hasn't been able to make things in Second Life, which means her income is down, which is making things harder for her. The Love Donna Flora event is a chance to enjoy her gorgeous jewelry and rally around to support her as she battles cancer some more. I have always loved her jewelry, it's so unique, but I tended to wait for special outfits to go and look for something to suit; when I was putting together these over-the-top looks I decided to swing by and see if anything fit, and found what I wanted almost immediately. She also makes lovely clothing, some of it with matching jewelry for people who struggle to put together looks. There will be an event later this month, but for now an easy way to help out is to go and indulge in some of her unique, beautiful jewelry. The dresses - different color versions of the same style - are also something special, as I picked them up in the closing sale for Bliss Couture. There are a lot of unique, extravagant dresses for sale for not much linden, perfect to match up with one of Donna Flora's exemplary sets of jewelry. I had such fun with this - even the slow bits with dual logging and using shadows - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Deoridhe Quandry:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Curio Obscura, Stackable Hair - Rococco Rolls
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Virtual Insanity, Fairy Neon
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Lips Fire Red
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Harlow
Dress: Bliss Couture, Gravios

Poses: !bang

Deoridhe Placebo:

Skin: Curious Kitties, Azil Peach Skin - Chilled Watermelon
Hair: Curio Obscura, Stackable Hair - Spirals Galore
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, 09 Cup of Heart
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Ester
Dress: Bliss Couture, Gravios

Poses : Glitterati

Location: <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Selidor/234/135/21">Selidor</a>
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Second Life's 10th Birthday Celebration

I didn't get to see nearly as much of Second Life's 10th Birthday Celebration as I hoped; my time was taken up by a panoply of other things, other demands on my time and attention, and a surfeit of time to simply explore and enjoy, as well as a desire to linger and take pictures whenever I found something fun - which meant wandering around took a lot longer than it might have otherwise. Definitely, the highlight I saw was the Behemoth, which was an allegorical tale of Second Life with a solid roleplaying aspect created by Loki Elliot. There were a few hiccups with the HUD which worked it, but otherwise it was truly amazing and a lot of fun in a very small space. I really hope he does more along this vein in Second Life - maybe hooking up with MadPea? I'd love to see a few different, financially solvent gaming groups set up, though; that's hard to accomplish in Second Life.

I really wish they would leave the Birthday sims up for a full month - especially now that the creativity is so broad and incredible. No one is phoning in these displays, and it's a shame they have to vanish so soon before even a tenth of them can be explored fully. I'm really feeling the Lack Of Time this year - along with a desire to slow down and not rush through things as much, to linger and let slower thoughts bubble to the surface. We haven't made a world for ourselves with a lot of breathing room, either online or offline. I really enjoyed what I saw, though, and seeing a little piece of me show up again in the Birthday Celebration was really fun.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Hair: Wasabi Pills
Skin: De La Soul
Wings: Fancy Fairy
Necklace: I forget, but I think I got it at Collobor88
Dress: Schadenfreude
Boots: Schadenfreude

Monday Meme: Meet My Friend Challenge

Strawberry brings us another meme, the Meet My Friend Challenge, inspiring us all to photograph and interview a good friend and sharing them with the world - or at least the Second Life portion of it. I've not done much photography of anyone but myself, so this was a real challenge for me - both in finding a friend who was free for picture taking and interviewing, the whole process of photographing someone other than myself, and the issues which occur when you're fighting with two connections and two accounts. 

I had a chance to spend some time with Charlie on his sim, where we both roleplay, Isle of Amras. He's built a lot of it, organized a bunch more using things which he has purchased, and made a fantastic sim for us to enjoy. He also makes and sells clothing, skins, eyes, buildings, and furniture in his store, De La Soul. 

Deoridhe: So, how long have you been in Second Life?

Charlie: Five years, give or take, in February.

Deoridhe: How did you learn about Second Life? 

Charlie: A friend on IMVU actually got it, showed me how to sign up for it and everything, brought me into Second Life, gave me a few minutes to get used to my avatar, then took me to the GYC. So, from day one, the second person I met on Second Life had a tail butt plug in, and a ball gag. And I have to say - the guy, he was a decent guy; he just happened to have a ball gag, and a butt plug tail, at a gay, furry club in Second Life. We had a conversation when my friend up and left me there - he teleported me there, and he left me there.

Charlie: He told me later he hooked up with someone.

Charlie: The first thing I noticed about the art at the GYC - oh, this is really nice art. The second thing - oh, this is furry art. The third thing - oh, this is furry porn... The first thing I notice when I see art is whether it's good, well drawn art. I was oblivious to it being porn; it is like the third or the fourth thing that registers after all the artistic stuff. 

Charlie: [laughing] Are you sure you want this on your blog?

Deoridhe: YES. Just clarify, what's the GYC.

Charlie: The Gay Yiff Club.

Deoridhe: So, with this being your first experience - what made you stay?

Charlie: I was cracking up - I was dying. I'm standing here talking to this guy with the ball gag, and this leather harness, and we're actually having a conversation about how I came from IMVU to here, and he was actually explaining to me how to cam around and stuff, and watching this horse prance by. It was so surreal, I had to go back and make sure I wasn't hallucinating or something.

Charlie: When I joined Second Life, I was very naive and sheltered even if I was open minded, so I'm not sure I actually knew whether that was a tail or not. I was very naive back then - Second Life has opened my eyes to BDSM and other sexual stuff.

Deoridhe: It really shows how Second Life broadens peoples' horizons.

Charlie: Yeah, and most people outside of Second Life - when they've heard of Second Life, they've heard its this bad, really perverted place. That's what everyone has seemed to hear. And that's the first thing I faced - not just the sexual side, but the furry sexual side, which gets very over the top. After that first experience, I just had to come back and see if I remembered it right, since the first time I was there for maybe an hour or two hours.

Deoridhe: What do you do in Second Life?

Charlie: You know that Deo.

Deoridhe: I know, but the people who read my blog don't, so this is a leading question to ask you things I already know.

Charlie: What do I do in SL? I stand there staring off at nothing for hours on end, and then finally make something. I'll be online all day, dicking around and not doing anything, and then eeeeeeeh, making something.

Deoridhe: Fine. So you have a store, and you roleplay...

Charlie: Asking me to describe my store, and my business, and suddenly my brain just stops working and it's like, you can't even remember your name things. Do I have a store? [sarcasm] No, I don't have a store.

Deoridhe: What do you love about Second Life?

Charlie: You can create or be anything. It's so much more advanced than IMVU. I was making stuff there, and then I came to SL and I spent all this time learning how to do those things on Second Life - in between stripping - that I had done on IMVU; you know, making skins, manipulating prims - that was the big one. Within just a couple of months of joining Second Life, I opened up my store, because I already pretty much had what I needed to make stuff in Second Life. I did skins, and then I did the ears, and then tails... it was learning, like anything else.

Deoridhe: What don't you like about Second Life?

Charlie: The sense of entitlement some people seem to get from it. If we're going to be completely honest, it's the entitlement people seem to have just because they're in Second Life. There are some customers who do things to creators and store owners in Second Life that they wouldn't dream of doing to a store owner in real life. That's one of my big pet peeves - I mean yes, it is a game, I hate to say that, but this is also a business.

Deoridhe: What has Second Life taught you?

Charlie: I've learned a whole lot of the technical aspects of things - learning blender and that kind of thing - but open-mindedness on a personal level is a big thing. When I first came to Second Life I was very naive. Back then I would have been shocked by a wedding that had BDSM aspects, and now I was a groomsman in one. Definitely open mindedness, opening the eyes.

Deoridhe: What are your  plans for the future in Second Life?

Charlie: To just keep plugging along, hopefully expand the horizons with the business and, hopefully get it to at least pay for a portion of my real life needs, since I don't have a job right now. I NEED TO MAKE MORE STUFF!

Deoridhe: Where can we find you, on and off the grid?

Charlie: I've mostly left Plurk, but you can find me at my Flickr account. I'm usually on Isle of Amras when I'm logged into Second Life.

Deoridhe: Is there anything you want to share about yourself?

Charlie: I'm an introvert. [laughs]

( More pictures here. )